Sakura Taisen: Sie Liebten Sich Beide
by Karl the Artillery Piece
Summary: The Imperial Army established the Floral Assault Unit in order to counter the rise in supernatural threats. In response, the Metropolitan Police establish a unit of their own to support the Kagekidan. Though shadowed by their military counterparts, their fate becomes closely intertwined with the Floral Assault Unit. This is the story of the Mobile Grenadiers.


The girl could smell the salt of the sea, as her boat bobbed up and down from the surf. Gunfire echoed from behind as massive warships opened fire on the coastal defense batteries. She could also hear said defense batteries firing back, shells splashing into the water around her boat. Soldiers crowded the boat with her, like a pack of sardines, clutching their rifles for dear life.

More columns of water sprouted into the air as more shells splashed into the Baltic Sea.

The day was the 12th of October, 1917.

Slowly, but surely, the boats crept up to the island of Hiiumaa, tracers and shells still zipping past.

Suddenly, as the boat nearly reached the beach, a high explosive shell struck the boat, sending both crew and the soldiers inside into the air. The girl, upon landing in the water nearby, barely managed to get her head above water before submerging again. She ditched most of her equipment, which weighed her down in the water, but still found her consciousness slowly fading away.

Just then, someone pulled her out of the water and onto the beach. The girl coughed and sputtered once she surfaced, then switched her attention to the person who had saved her.

"You okay, young lad!?" the soldier asked over the gunfire. The girl simply nodded, focused more on catching her breath over vocalizing any sort of word of thanks.

The soldier, however, never got the chance to hear any sort of reply, for a stray bullet suddenly punched through the helmet of the poor man. Seeing this, the girl acted fast, grabbing the fallen soldier's rifle before rushing towards the barricade up ahead. Once there, she pulled her bayonet out from its scabbard before fixing it onto the end of her newly acquired rifle.

There the girl stayed, cowering in fear, until she could make out voices approaching over the gunfire.

Russian soldiers.

She quickly checked if the rifle she held was loaded and, just as she feared, an empty magazine greeted her gaze. She then rummaged through her ammunition pouches, but found them empty as well.

She could hear them clearly now, right on the other side of the barricade.

Just then, the girl jumped over the barricade and jammed her bayonet through the lower jaw of the first Russian soldier she saw. The other soldiers tried to shoot her, but the girl simply used the first soldier as a shield, who absorbed a salvo of bullets from a Russian automatic rifleman. She then kicked the first soldier's weapon, a revolver, into her hand before discarding the body. Two shots from the revolver took care of the remaining soldiers.

The girl then walked towards the bodies of the soldiers she had just killed, before picking up the automatic rifle that one of them dropped. She then continued forward, the injuries she sustained when her boat exploded finally coming to her attention.

Voices echoed behind her.

German voices.

Friendly soldiers.

The girl's legs gave out once she registered those facts. One of the German soldiers rushed over to her side, calling for a medic to come and help.

As her mind slowly sank into darkness, amidst all the thoughts of doubt, regret, pain, and suffering, one thought calmed the girl; she was safe, for now.

* * *

**Sakura Taisen: Sie Liebten Sich Beide**

**第一章****: ****進め！機動擲弾隊！**

**Chapter 1: Advance! Mobile Grenadiers!**

* * *

**1923 (12th Year of the Taisho Era)**

**Tokyo, Imperial Capital of Japan**

Risa Edelweiss opened her eyes as the sound of birds echoed outside her apartment window, her gaze greeted by the empty ceiling above her. She continued to lay there on her bed for another five minutes or so, enjoying the feeling of the soft and silky sheets underneath her, before her alarm clock rang to life. Sighing, Risa stopped the deafening ringing of the alarm before moving towards the curtains of her window. She opened them with one swift action, causing sunlight to suddenly flood the room. The girl grimaced slightly at the bright flash, but she soon adjusted.

Today was the first day of her new job. Better get ready.

After a quick shower, Risa put on a fairly simple set of clothes consisting of a white button-up shirt, blue dress, and a pair of black socks. She then gathered some of her personal belongings, including some personal papers, writing utensils, and a Steyr M1912/P16 machine pistol, before stuffing said belongings into a briefcase.

Then she walked straight out the door, with her luggage, of course.

The streets of Tokyo bustled with the morning rush as people moved to and fro to wherever they happened to be needed that day. Despite being a Westerner, Risa seemed to have failed in standing out amongst the crowd of Japanese people. Perhaps spending five years in Japan helped. Who knows.

She stopped by a newspaper stand before getting on the tram car, picking one of the more interesting headlines of the bunch.

"Monster Appears in Ueno Park!" the headline read. "Swiftly Defeated by Young Maiden!"

Risa gave a small chuckle as she read the title.

"Oh Japan," she whispered to herself. "Never change."

After a brief and, thankfully, uneventful ride, the tram car stopped at Risa's desired station, allowing her to get off of the tram. She sighed, before turning around.

Before her stood the headquarters building of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which, starting today, would be her new home.

"Risa Edelweiss-san, I presume?"

Hearing her name, Risa turned around to find a police officer, in uniform, with the insignia identifying him to be a Sergeant, or so Risa assumed.

"Yes," said she, now properly turning to face the officer. "That would be me."

The Officer then proceeded to snap to attention, before saluting Risa.

"Chief Inspector Harada is waiting for you," said he. "Please, this way."

* * *

Chief Inspector Jyuuzaburou Harada failed to strike Risa as any more than just another commissioned officer, for better or for worse. He seemed more laid back compared to most other officers Risa met, however, but she registered this as a difference between military and law enforcement personnel.

Harada adjusted his glasses as he read through Risa's profile.

"Hmm," said he. "Born in Munich, Germany, enlisted in the German army at age 14, served on the Estonian front, wounded in combat, also awarded Pour le Merit during combat operations, but had award revoked due to age and gender… Dishonorably discharged in January of 1918."

The Chief Inspector looked up from his reading.

"Seems like we both have had a fair share of war," said he. "Can you still shoot to kill?"

Risa's lips curled into a bitter smile.

"If necessary," she managed.

Content with this answer, Harada handed Risa a document.

"Here's you commission," said he. "From now on, you are an Inspector in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Not that it really matters, of course, but appearances are appearances. It should at least make things easier when entering government buildings. Westerners stand out in these parts."

Harada then lit a cigar for himself.

"Mizuchi," he called, causing the police officer standing behind Risa, the same officer she met outside, to snap to attention.

"Yes sir," said he.

"Could you escort Ms. Edelweiss to her room, please?"

"Will do, sir. Right this way, Inspector."

Risa did a small bow, a habit she picked up from her years living in Japan, before following Sergeant Mizuchi out the door. As the two walked towards Risa's new room, Risa's eyes had been examining the officer in front of her.

He seemed to stand at 180 cm tall, with brown hair and eyes of a lighter shade of brown. Unlike most police officers, this one carried a pair of swords, a Tachi and a Kodachi, at his side. He also carried a revolver in a military-style holster, strange for an officer operating in Tokyo.

The two got on an elevator, heading for a specially built residential section of the building. Risa then noticed the officer's shoes.

"Sergeant," said she. "Are you good at tightrope walking?"

Mizuchi raised an eyebrow in surprise at this question.

"I do practice every now and then, ma'am," he replied. "How did you know?"

"Specific parts of the soles of your shoes are worn," Risa said. "I just made a guess based on that. Also, you can just call me Risa."

"Huh, spoken like a proper detective," Mizuchi said. "Also, Charles is fine."

Now it was Risa's turn to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Charles?"

Charles Mizuchi let out an embarrassed chuckle in response.

"Mother was Belgian," he simply explained, to which Risa nodded in understanding.

The elevator then lurched to a stop, before opening its doors and revealing a fairly normal looking hallway. Both Risa and Charles exited the elevator and proceeded to walk down said hallway, all the while chatting about small things along the way. Before long, however, the two ran into a pair of boys, both dressed in factory worker clothes.

The boys, upon noticing Risa and Charles, both sprang to attention before saluting the pair. Charles, followed by Risa, returned their salute. Risa noted the identical appearances of the boys, with both having black hair, tan skin, and red eyes. Siblings, perhaps.

"Good morning, _Mas _Charles!" the younger boy said. "Welcome back!"

"Thanks," Charles replied, patting the head of the boy as he did so. "You two heading to school?"

The older of the two siblings responded with a nod of his head.

"Yes sir," said he, shifting some of his hair out of his line of vision as he did so. "Dian has a few exams today."

Dian, the younger sibling, simply giggled as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"I only have five today," said he. "It shouldn't be a problem. _Mas _Eko is just over exaggerating."

Eko, the older sibling, rolled his eyes in annoyance before switching his attention to Risa.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Edelweiss," said he, causing Risa to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "I look forward to working with you from now on."

Then he gave a quick salute to both Risa and Charles, gestured to Dian to follow him, and headed for the elevator.

"Guess I need to leave," Dian said. "_Mas, Mbak_, bye!"

As Dian's footsteps echoed past, Risa turned to Charles to ask a quick question.

"How do they know who I am?" she asked. "I didn't even introduce myself."

"Eko has really good ears," Charles replied. "The rest of us call him 'Echo' instead of 'Eko' because of that."

Charles then sighed before scratching his head in annoyance.

"He probably overheard our conversation. Not too hard for him to do."

Risa simply nodded, satisfied with the answer, before stopping as the pair arrived at her room.

"Right," Charles said. "Here is your room key. Chief Inspector Harada will do a quick briefing with you at 1300 hours. After that there will be a tour of the facility."

He looked up at Risa.

"Any questions?"

"Nope," Risa replied. "Thanks Charles."

Charles simply gave a nod of acknowledgment before closing the door to Risa's room.

The Inspector now turned around to get a good look at her new home.

The room itself held very little furniture, probably because her own personal luggage had not arrived yet. A twin-sized bed sat in the far right corner of the room, with a desk and chair on the far left. Being an underground facility, the room lacked a window and caused Risa to frown slightly. A small cabinet sat next to the door, completing the set of furniture in the room.

Meanwhile, a single, naked lightbulb lit the entire room, casting a very ominous light upon everything within.

Risa laid her briefcase down on the bed before opening it. She pulled out her personal belongings, including her machine pistol, and laid them out on top of the bed.

One of the items on the bed managed to catch her eye, causing Risa to immediately pick up the item.

A photo.

Risa smiled as she recognized the faces of those in the photo. Such innocent times.

Her thoughts were cut off, however, when someone knocked on the door, causing Risa to walked over to answer.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Um, Risa?" came Charles's voice. "It's me."

Risa immediately opened the door.

She found herself greeted by a pair of light brown eyes, staring right back at her. Both of them blinked in surprise before Charles laughed the incident off.

"Change of plans," the police sergeant said. "Tour of the facility comes first. No idea why, but it should help answer some of your questions."

Risa nodded in response.

"Alright," said she. "Where to first?"

* * *

"This is the Mess Hall," Charles explained. "As its name suggests, we eat here. You have to make your own food yourself, though. We don't have the staff to spare for cooking, apparently."

"That shouldn't be much of a problem," Risa said. "I can cook… sort of…"

"Most of us have that same problem," Charles replied, a slightly defeated look on his face as he did so. "Thankfully, everything that comes out of the kitchen is edible."

Risa giggled at this.

"That's a relief."

* * *

"This is the armory," Charles explained. "Most of the small arms we use are stored here. Aside from our sidearms, which the Old Man will you issue to you during the briefing, everyone gets one of these."

He picked up a gun off of one of the racks.

"An OVP-1918, an Italian submachine gun," he introduced. "Kinda awkward to use, but you'll get used to it."

"Why not get Thompsons?"

"And share an image with American Gangsters? As good as those guns are the higher ups would never approve. They're also pretty expensive."

"Fair point."

Risa took a moment to look around at the various weapons lining the walls. Everything from pistols to machine guns seemed to have a home in this room. She even found a Canadian Ross Rifle.

Content, she headed out the door, followed closely by Charles.

* * *

"Here are the bathrooms," Charles explained. "I think these are quite self explanatory."

"Do I have to worry about peeping toms?" Risa asked, eyeing Charles suspiciously as she did so.

Charles chuckled nervously.

"You outrank any potential peeping tom, Risa," said he. "They'll think twice before trying anything."

Risa, however, simply shrugged.

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"And we're back at the elevator," Charles stated. "We're going to head to the hanger next. The Old Man should be waiting there."

"Wait, we have a hanger?" Risa asked, her surprise and curiosity peaking at this statement. "Do we have autogyros or something?"

Charles chuckled at this.

"Good guess, but no cigar," he replied. "You'll see."

The elevator soon stopped, before opening its doors to reveal what lay on the other side.

* * *

"This is the hanger," Charles explained. "This is where our special equipment is stored and maintained."

"Special equipment?" Risa wondered. Here eyes darted left and right around the hanger in search of such machines. Tanks, perhaps? Or maybe some sort of advanced surveillance equipment?

"I'll take it from here, Sergeant Mizuchi."

The pair wheeled around to find none other than Chief Inspector Harada himself, standing in front of what Risa finally managed to identify as the "special equipment."

The machines seemed to be of a humanoid shape, though substantially more bulkier, with a height of roughly two meters. Considering that the legs had been folded in half for storage, the actual height might be four meters. Each machine seemed to have a unique set of weapons, with the only commonality being a large riot shield, embroidered with the Metropolitan Police Department's logo, equipped with all machines.

"These," Harada explained. "Are the Type 12 _Kidou-Tekidan-Kattchū _(機動擲弾甲冑-Mobile Grenadier Armor). They will be the first line of defence against any threats to the Imperial Capital."

Risa raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Threats, sir?" she asked. Harada nodded in response.

"You've heard the news about a monster appearing in Ueno Park, correct?" he asked. Risa nodded.

"Yes, I have," said she. "I also heard that one girl managed to beat it."

"Indeed," Harada replied. "But imagine fighting an entire horde of these monsters."

Risa then pointed at the Type 12 robots.

"That's where these come in?" she asked, to which Harada nodded.

"These monsters are difficult to kill using conventional weaponry," said he. "But not impossible. This unit's main job is to act as a first response unit, buying time until military reinforcements can arrive."

This time Charles raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"But sir," said he. "I thought the military lacked the strength necessary to act as reinforcements."

"They do now."

Harada picked up some documents he had set aside prior to the conversation.

"The military has developed weapons called 'Koubu (光武-Warrior of Light),'" said he. "They seem to run on some sort of spiritual energy, as well as steam, and as a result perform better against these monsters than any other weapon we have available."

He then pointed at the Type 12s.

"This is our answer."

Harada took a breath, before returning to the subject at hand.

"Inspector Edelweiss," said he. "You have been assigned as commander of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Mobile Grenadier Division. Our mission is to defend the People, State, and Emperor from any sort of magical threat. Is that understood?"

Risa snapped to attention before saluting Harada.

"Understood, sir," she replied. "But…why me?"

Harada, who had been expecting this question, sighed before delivering his response.

"Long story short," said he. "I get to pick from a long list of candidates I receive from my superiors. As for why I picked you from that list…"

The Chief Inspector wiped his glasses before putting them back on.

"You have witnessed the horrors of war, as I have," said he. "You possess the ability to kill, yet you also know the value of life. That is why."

* * *

Risa examined a gun in her hand, a Type 26 Revolver, as the elevator carried herself and Charles up to the residential block. Harada issued this gun to her as her personal sidearm, which she needed to carry at all times.

"Charles," she began, as she returned the revolver back to its holster. "How old are those two boys?"

"Echo and Dian?' Charles replied. "Fourteen and eight respectively. Why do you ask?"

"Aren't they too young to be in a combat unit?" Risa asked. "Especially Dian."

"How do you know they're part of a combat unit?"

"They smell like gunpowder."

"What if I said they work at a munitions factory as a part-time job?"

"Then why do they live here?"

"...Good point."

Charles sighed before speaking up again.

"You know how we have a Ross rifle in the armory?" he asked.

"Yep."

"That's Echo's. He's a pretty good iron-sight sniper with that rifle."

This statement caused Risa to blink in surprise, expecting more of a reconnaissance role due to Echo's good hearing.

"And Dian?" she asked.

Charles paused at this, possibly thinking through how to explain Dian's presence, before replying.

"Dian wound up here because he followed Echo," he replied. "Considering Echo acted as the kid's guardian at that point, we couldn't really send him away."

He paused.

"...Then he stepped into one of the Type 12s."

Charles chuckled as he remembered.

"He pulled off some ridiculous stunts during testing," said he. "The prototype machines at the time were more like bipedal tanks than anything else. Meanwhile, Dian screamed around in one of those things like he was rolling around on roller skates. He also did some martial art moves with the machine as well."

The elevator stopped as Charles finished his story.

"Thankfully," he finished. "The production machines the rest of us use can pull off most of those same maneuvers now."

As the elevator doors slid open, Risa processed the information she had just received.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police had established a secret combat unit, which operated humanoid weapons to fight magical monsters in the Imperial Capital. Said weapons found themselves piloted by a Bavarian Private-turned Police Inspector, a Belgian-Japanese circus performer, a Javanese iron-sight sniper, and a child genius. Plus three more.

Risa sighed as she took the information in, while Charles focused more on a certain person he noticed standing in the hallway.

"Hey Saburo," he called. "Looking for something?"

The boy, Saburo, wheeled around in surprise but calmed down once he noticed Charles.

"No, I'm looking for someone," he replied, before noticing Risa. "Is this the new squad leader?"

Upon seeing Charles nod in response, Saburo snapped to attention before saluting Risa.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am!" said he. "Sergeant Saburo Akiyama reporting with a message from Chief Inspector Harada!"

Risa returned the salute.

"Inspector Risa Edelweiss," she replied. "Nice to meet you. So what's the message you have for me?"

Saburo then handed Risa an envelope.

"All I've been told is to hand this to you," said he. "The Chief Inspector said it's from the Second in Command. I have no idea what the contents are, by the way."

"Huh," Risa said, before she carefully opened the envelope. Inside, she found a note, some candy (probably for Dian), and a bundle of tickets.

Wait, tickets?

Risa quickly skimmed through the note in order to figure out the meaning of all this.

_"Congratulations on your appointment,"_ the note read. _"I'm sorry that I cannot meet you personally yet, but I managed to snag some theater tickets for you and the boys. Think of them as a celebratory gift. Have fun! - Chief Inspector Ohka Endo, Second in Command, Mobile Grenadier Division."_

Risa simply smiled at the message before taking a look at the actual tickets themselves. They allowed entry to the Great Imperial Theater House, for a performance by the Imperial Song and Theater Troupe. Interested, she looked up at the two boys in the room.

"Are you two free later today?" she asked, causing the two to blink in surprise.

"That would depend on your definition of 'later today,'" replied Saburo, "But I think I have some free time."

"Same here," Charles said. "Why do you ask?"

Risa then showed off the bundle of tickets she received.

"The XO said these are for you guys," she explained. "Theater tickets, one for each of us."

"Which theater?" Charles asked, his curiosity starting to grow as he did so.

"The Great Imperial Theater House," Risa replied, this time causing Saburo to widen his eyes in anticipation.

"Featuring the Imperial Song and Theater Troupe!?" he asked, clearly excited by all of this.

Risa, noticing Saburo's excitement, simply nodded in response.

"Right," said she. "The theater itself is not far from here, so we still have time until the show starts. Meet up at 1500 on the surface. Understood?"

* * *

"Wow," Dian said. "That's a big building."

Risa agreed with this statement.

The members of the Mobile Grenadier Division, excluding the commanders of the unit, found themselves in front of a great building in the middle of Tokyo. A clock tower on the corner of the building made it quite an eye catcher for those who passed by.

"So this is the Great Imperial Theater House," Charles muttered. "It looks… more normal than I thought it would be."

"Well, what did you expect?" asked Saburo. "The Imperial Palace?"

"I expected something like a Kabuki House," Echo said. "Or at least something a little more oriental."

"_Mbak_ Risa," Dian said. "Can we have our tickets now? Please?"

"Alright, alright," Risa replied. "Here you go. Don't lose it, okay?"

"Okay!"

In response to this exchange, Charles rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Jeez," he said. "You sound like a mom when you say that."

Risa, meanwhile, pouted at this statement.

"That's rude," she replied. "At least say 'older sister' or something. I'm still in my teens, thank you very much."

Charles simply raised his hands in surrender.

As the group made their way into the building, they lined up in front of the ticket counter alongside the other customers. There, they found the theater's ticket clipper, who seemed to be quite unfamiliar with his job.

"Look," said Dian. "The ticket clipper _onii-san _must be new here. He doesn't even know how to use the clipper properly!"

For this statement, he received a light smack to the head from Echo.

"You're being rude, Dian," he said. "Stating the obvious only makes it worse."

"Heheh, good point. Sorry about that _onii-san_."

Risa sighed at this, while also noting how Dian deliberately used the Japanese honorific for elders instead of his usual Javanese one.

She gave the ticket clipper a quiet "thank you" upon having her ticket clipped, before noticing things about the clipper himself.

He seemed to be a fairly normal looking person, probably around nineteen years of age, and it was not unheard of for people of such age to work part-time at places such as the theater.

Something, however, seemed off.

Risa ignored this, however, and met up with the rest of her group anyway.

* * *

Echo found himself standing alone on the ground floor of the Great Imperial Theater House. He had excused himself from viewing the play, claiming he needed to go to the restroom, as he found something strange about the theater house.

Echo leaned back against one of the pillars which supported the floor above, before carefully and deliberately tapping the floor with the toe of his shoe.

A small click resonated from the impact, but Echo needed nothing more. Slowly, as the click echoed back to him through the pillar on which he leaned on, he began to construct a mental map of the area below the building. He noted a basement, nothing too out of the ordinary, but found some sort of background noise interfering with his map making.

Machinery, perhaps?

Strange.

Regardless, Echo decided to return to his seat in the theater. He did not want to raise too much suspicion, after all.

* * *

The group exited the auditorium upon the conclusion of the play. Risa herself found the whole thing quite boring, possibly because she found little to no interest in theater in the first place. She did, however, enjoy watching her new comrades react to the play.

Risa noted how everyone seemed to be at ease during the performance, as if the stresses of the day slowly faded away. Plays such as these always helped with escaping the realities of war, as she had experienced first hand.

She took a look around at the smiling faces around her.

Oh, how times had changed.

"Hey _Mbak_," Dian said, interrupting Risa's thoughts. "Aren't those actresses the ones we just saw on stage?"

"Huh, you're right," Risa said. "Do you want to say hi to them?"

Dian's face then lit up with delight.

"Really!?" he exclaimed, before switching his attention to Echo. "Can I, _Mas_!? Please!?"

Echo sighed at this.

"Fine," he said. "But don't act too immature, okay? And don't be rude."

"I know, I know," Dian replied, before running off to meet the actresses.

Just then, Saburo approached Risa with a slight blush on his face. The blush only grew when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Inspe- I mean, Risa," he managed. "Is it okay if I… um…"

He gestured towards the actresses as he did so.

"Oh," Risa said. "Did you find someone to your liking?"

Saburo only responded with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Fine," Risa relented. "Don't do anything stupid, or it won't just be me who will be angry at you."

"Understood, ma'am," Saburo replied, before turning around and heading towards the actresses before Risa could reprimand him for using the word "ma'am" to address her.

Meanwhile, Charles turned his attention to Echo, who had been eyeing Dian as he got in line to meet the actresses.

"Shouldn't you go with him?" Charles asked, before Echo nodded his head in response, much to Charles's surprise.

"Dian doesn't react well to strangers," Echo said. "I think I'll stay and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Charles raised an eyebrow at this.

"Your brother, doing something stupid?" he wondered. "That would be a spectacle to watch."

Echo then flashed Charles a menacing glare, causing Charles to back down.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Charles said. "So you're going to stay here?"

"Yes," Echo replied. Then, in a rare moment of mischievousness, he shot Charles a sly grin.

"Don't do anything stupid with the Inspector," said he, before walking towards his brother's location.

Charles, meanwhile, simply scratched his head in embarrassment.

"We basically just met," he muttered. "What do you expect me to do?"

"What indeed," came Risa's voice, causing Charles to jump in surprise and panic. Risa simply giggled upon seeing his reaction.

"I'm going to be waiting outside while the others talk to the actresses," she said. She then pulled out a small cardboard box from one of her pockets.

A deck of playing cards.

Risa smiled as she saw Charles slowly understand her message.

"Care to join?"

* * *

Dian quietly shivered with excitement as he approached the actresses of the Imperial Song and Theater Troupe. The entire situation felt surreal to him, meeting the very people he had just seen on stage, and this surrealness further contributed to his excitement.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Surprised, Dian turned around, ready to defend himself by instinct, but calmed down upon noticing his brother.

"Oh," Dian said. "It's _Mas _Eko. I thought you said I could meet the actresses."

"I did," Echo replied. "I'm just coming with you."

Dian's face lit up again at this response.

"Oh, okay," said he. "No problem then."

Content, Dian turned around, only to find himself face to face with one of the actresses. The two blinked in surprise, before Dian spoke up first.

"Um…" he began, his face slowly turning red as he did so. "...hi…"

The actress, who only looked to be around Dian's age, giggled at his reaction.

"Don't be shy," the girl said, trying to make Dian comfortable as she did so. "I'm Iris!"

Iris lifted up her stuffed bear for Dian to see.

"This is Jean Paul!" she continued. "What's your name?"

"...I'm Dian…" Dian replied, finally managing to calm down a little. "Nice to meet you, _onee-chan_. You were great on stage!"

He noticed Iris's face light up with delight upon being addressed as an elder.

"Thanks!" Iris said. "...Wait, '_onee-chan_?' How old are you?"

"I'm eight."

"Really!? I'm nine!"

"Where are you from, Iris _onee-chan_?"

"France!"

"Wow, that's far away…"

"Where are you from, Dian?"

"Batavia. It's also far away."

Meanwhile, Echo looked on, smiling as he saw Dian make a new friend.

* * *

"...So you are new to this troupe, Ms. Shinguji?" Saburo asked, causing the actress next to him to nod in response.

"Yes," replied Sakura Shinguji. "I'm still learning things here and there, but I like to think that I am improving."

The two continued to talk for a while, before Saburo noticed Echo waving him over.

"Looks like I need to leave," said he. "Bye, Ms. Shinguji. I'll try to save up to buy another ticket for another performance."

"Please do, Akiyama-san," Sakura replied. "Also Sakura is fine."

Hearing this, Saburo's eyes lit up with joy.

"Oh, um, got it!" he replied. "Bye, Sakura-san!"

With that, he ran to Echo before heading for the exit.

* * *

The group immediately headed for the armory upon returning to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters. There, each one of them grabbed their issued firearms before heading to the range.

Nothing wrong came out of some occasional target practice.

Most importantly here, however, Risa wanted to know how well her new comrades did on the range. This resulted mostly from curiosity, but also because Risa simply wanted to practice.

"Shooter ready," came Risa's voice.

"Standby…!"

A beep sounded as a timer began to count down, while simultaneously everyone drew their handguns and opened fire at the targets down range.

When the shooting finally stopped, Risa found all targets hit within the accepted amount of time. Even Dian did well, though he had a semi-automatic compared to the revolvers everyone else, excluding Echo, used.

After this initial test, the practice became more sporadic, as everyone practiced various other weapons they had.

"Hey, Charles," Risa asked. "How do you cock this thing?"

Charles, who saw Risa struggle with using an OVP, walked over to lend her a hand.

"See this sleeve here?" he began, indicating a sleeve covering part of the receiver of the weapon as he did so. "Rack it backwards. Front trigger is semi-auto and the rear trigger is full auto, by the way."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Upon figuring out how to operate the gun, Risa put a number of bursts into some of the targets down range. As the practice continued, Risa suddenly found someone tap on her shoulder. She turned around, finger off the trigger of her weapon, and found Echo standing behind her.

"Inspector," said he. "A word?"

* * *

Risa now found herself alone with Echo in the armory, who seemed to have a worried look on his face.

"What is it, Echo," Risa asked. "Something wrong?"

"Remember the Imperial Theater House, ma'am?" Echo asked, to which Risa nodded in return.

"Yes," she replied. "What about it?"

"Do theater houses normally have heavy machinery in their basement?"

This question, understandably, caused Risa to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Not unless they have some sort of backup generator," she replied. "Why?"

"I heard heavy machinery in their basement," Echo replied. "Could it be possible that there is a hidden arms manufacturing facility or something under there?"

Risa, however, waved Echo's suggestion off.

"It shouldn't be a problem," she replied. "The basement is probably a military facility."

Echo widened his eyes at this suggestion.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Remember that awkward ticket clipper we ran into when we entered the theater?" she explained. "He's a naval officer."

"That would explain things," Echo said. "But how do you know he's from the navy?"

"He smelled like gunpowder and ocean water," Risa replied. "Simple as that."

* * *

"Well," Saburo said as the group exited the armory. "That was some good practice."

"It was fun!" Dian exclaimed. "Did you see _Mbak _Risa with that machine pistol!? She was like, boom boom! Pew pew!"

"It was more entertaining to watch Charles try and reload the thing," Risa replied, to which Charles pouted in response.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "How was I supposed to know it reloaded using stripper clips!?"

"Stripper clip guides," everyone replied, to which Charles sighed in defeat.

Risa then turned around to Charles.

"When do you guys normally sleep?" she asked. "Are we on twenty-four hour standby or something?"

"Nope," Charles replied. "We usually sleep around…"

He checked his watch.

"...Now, actually. Especially Dian. He needs his sleep."

"Oh," said Dian. "Is it that time already?"

He then, together with Echo, proceeded to excuse himself before heading for his room.

A sudden yawn from behind suddenly caught the attention of both Charles and Risa.

"Right," Saburo said. "Guess I should get some shuteye as well. See you all in the morning."

With that, he headed for his own room.

This left Charles and Risa, alone, in the hallway.

"Um," Risa broke the silence. "See you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yep," Charles replied. "No need to set your alarm for tomorrow, by the way. We have an actual day off."

"Then what was today?"

"Some daily patrols, school in the case of Dian and Echo, and introducing the new squad leader to the unit in my case."

"Oh. Okay."

Risa then headed to her room, before turning around to face Charles again.

"Poker tomorrow?" she challenged.

Charles responded with a simple nod, before heading for his room.

* * *

A loud alarm suddenly blared throughout the residential block, causing Risa to jolt awake as a result. She rushed to get changed, at the very least putting her trousers on before dashing out of the room, her tunic and sidearm in hand. She, along with the other members of the Mobile Grenadier Division, ran for the elevator which soon carried the group towards the hanger.

The elevator itself had a number of lockers integrated into its walls, one for each pilot. Risa opened her own, and found a radio, a harness for said radio, a headset for the radio, and her machine pistol. By the time the group arrived at the hanger, they all wore their sidearms and radios, ready to sortie at a moment's notice.

Chief Inspector Harada waited for them in the hanger.

"Sir!" Risa said. "Mobile Grenadier Division, all personnel are present and accounted for!"

"Good," Harada replied. "Right on time, too. Nice job for your first scramble, Inspector."

"Thank you sir," Risa said. "So this was just a drill?"

"Unfortunately, no. It's the real thing. All personnel are to board their units immediately. You will be briefed on the way. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Risa then turned around to the other members of the Mobile Grenadier Division.

"Alright boys," said she. "We got some work to do. Let's get to it."

* * *

Risa took a moment to look around the inside of the Type 12's cockpit once she closed the hatch. In front of her lay a large monitor, most likely linked to the monoeye camera on top of the machine. She also found herself surrounded by a myriad of gauges, levers, and buttons. A pair each of joysticks and foot pedals dominated the area within the cockpit. Pushing a few buttons brought up a display of her on board weapons.

The machine's left hand held the Riot Shield, while its right hand held a 20mm Tankabwehrkanone Becker M II autocannon, configured as a handheld rifle. A smoke grenade launcher and four-shot rocket launcher, located on the machine's left and right shoulders respectively, as well as a 13.2 mm MG 18 machine gun fixed in the lower-right torso area, completed the list of ranged armaments. Risa also found a pair of Particle Sabres, stored on both side-skirts, meant for melee combat.

A jolt shook the machine as it began to move. Risa switched on an auxiliary camera to find a conveyor belt pushing her Type 12 into what looked to be an armored transport truck.

A voice suddenly crackled through the radio.

"_This is Operational Headquarters, Chief Inspector Endo speaking,"_ the voice said. "_I'm going to be doing the en route briefing now, so listen close."_

The transport truck suddenly began to move, while simultaneously a map appeared on the main monitor of Risa's Type 12.

"_We have received reports of unidentified machines running amok at Ueno Park,"_ Endo continued. "_No confirmed reports on their numbers or purpose have arrived yet, but we do know that civilians are in the area. The Mobile Grenadier Division is to protect the evacuation of civilians and hold off the machines until military reinforcements arrive. Furthermore, conventional weaponry might find it difficult to kill these machines, so use everything at your disposal wisely."_

Endo then switched her attention to Risa.

"_Inspector Edelweiss,"_ said she. "_I'm sorry, but you're going to be entering a live engagement without much training. Do you think you will be okay?"_

"I will be fine, ma'am," Risa replied. "I'm going to be reading the operator's manual at the same time, but I can manage."

"_Understood_," said Endo. Then another voice cut in.

"_By the way, Mbak Risa," _Dian said. "_All melee attacks are pre-programmed, so don't worry about pulling fancy moves. If you keep calm, you should be fine!"_

Risa smiled at this.

"Thanks Dian," said she, before noticing the transport slow down as it approached its destination. "Right. Seems like we've arrived. Commencing operation."

She saw through the monoeye of her Type 12, which slowly began to whirr to life, the transport truck slowly opening its doors.

"Well," Risa said, before gunning the Type 12 out of the transport as she did so. "Let's go!"

* * *

Ueno Park found itself crawling with _Maso-Kihei_ machines, destroying buildings and ruining infrastructure. One of them swung its sword at a nearby building, causing the walls to collapse. The machine peered into the gap it created, and found a group of civilians inside.

Perhaps they failed to escape in time.

Regardless, the _Maso-Kihei_ raised its sword once again, ready to murder the civilians it found, as it had been ordered to do so.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed throughout the area as a humanoid machine, with Metropolitan Police markings, rammed into the _Maso-Kihei_. The evil machine fell over from the impact and attempted to stand up again, but found the muzzle of a 20mm autocannon waiting for it. A burst from the Type 12's autocannon ripped through the head of the _Maso-Kihei_, causing it to explode.

The Type 12's monoeye swung over to look at the civilians which it just saved.

"_Now's your chance!"_ the Type 12's pilot exclaimed. "_Get out of here!"_

The civilians then ran away without hesitation, as more Type 12s arrived on the scene.

"_Nice job Saburo!"_ Risa said as her Type 12 screeched to a halt. "_What's the situation?"_

"_Not good, from the looks of it,"_ Saburo replied. "_Look at how many there are!"_

"_That's a lot of hostiles!"_ Charles exclaimed, his Type 12's monoeye surveying the battlefield as he did so. "_If this lot manage to flood into the rest of the city, who knows what would happen!"_

"_When will the army reinforcements arrive?"_ Echo asked.

"No idea," Risa replied, bringing up a map as she did so. "But we need to hold out until they do."

She took a deep breath before addressing the others again.

"Right," said she. "Saburo, Dian, head to the east side of the park. Don't let any hostiles get through from there. The enemy seems to mostly consist of melee types, so use your ranged weapons to your advantage. Charles, you're with me."

"_Right'o,"_ replied Saburo.

"_Got it!" _replied Dian.

"_Roger that,"_ replied Charles.

"Echo," Risa continued. "I want you to provide covering fire from that bit of high ground over there. Take out any enemies that might try to flank either of our positions."

"_Understood,"_ Echo replied.

"Good," Risa concluded. "Everyone, to your positions!"

With that, Dian, Saburo, and Echo gunned their Type 12's toward their respective destinations, leaving Risa and Charles behind.

"Alright then," Charles said, his Type 12 readying its riot shield and 20mm autocannon as he did so. "'Use your ranged weapons to your advantage,' you said? How exactly though?"

"That's simple," Risa replied, her Type 12 also readying its riot shield and autocannon as she did so. "We make a wall of steel."

Just then, a swarm of _Maso-Kihei_ mechs noticed their presence and charged at the two police officers, swords held high and ready to strike.

"Here goes!" Risa exclaimed. "All weapons free! Don't let a single one of them get through!"

* * *

Echo, upon finding a nice firm surface atop the piece of high ground Risa pointed out for him, motioned his Type 12 to sit down, ready to fire upon enemy machines. A sub-arm attached to the left shoulder of Echo's Type 12 then extended outward, before ramming a spike into the ground nearby. Within the machine's cockpit, Echo noted the appearance of a sonar-like interface on his main monitor.

"Acoustic Sensor Array deployed," he muttered, before adjusting his headset to match. "Commencing area scan..."

Gradually, Echo began to form a map of the area, including the positions of enemy machines. He also noted other things.

"What the hell…?" he muttered. "Sounds like they're digging… but are they digging something up, or burying something instead…?"

Echo then switched his attention to another noise.

"Inspector," he called over the radio. "There's another wave heading in your direction. Sounds like there's about five of them."

"_Roger that, Echo,"_ Risa replied. "_Thanks for the heads up!"_

"Sergeant Akiyama," Echo continued. "Ten more enemies heading in your direction."

"_Are you kidding me!?"_ Saburo replied, gunfire echoing through his headset as he did so. "_Alright, we'll see what we can do. Thanks for the warning!"_

Echo sighed, before pulling a scope out from the cockpit's headrest. The scope, secured in position by its own small sub-arm, synchronized with the scope mounted on his Type 12's 6-pounder Hotchkiss gun, configured as a handheld rifle.

"I guess I'll thin the crowd out a little bit," he said to himself, then motioned the Type 12 to level it's rifle at one of the _Maso-Kihei _machines heading for Saburo and Dian. Echo lined the scope's crosshairs just above and to the left of the enemy's head before pulling the trigger.

A loud bang echoed across the area, as a 57mm armor piercing shell screamed towards its target, before decapitating the intended _Maso-Kihei_.

Clanging sounds resonated as the empty shell casing fell onto the ground.

"That should pin them for a while," Echo muttered, shifting his sights on another enemy as he did so. "Who's next?"

* * *

"Note to self," Saburo muttered as his Type 12 fired a barrage of high explosive shells from two Pom-pom autocannons on its shoulders. "Never bring high explosive ammunition to an armor piercing fight!"

The shells landed on a group of _Maso-Kihei _before exploding, causing them to halt but delivering no damage in the process.

"What did you expect, _Mas _Saburo?" Dian said, also firing a burst from his Pom-pom autocannon on his left shoulder. "They're only one or two pound shells. They can only do so much."

He then fired a burst from his 20mm TAK at a nearby enemy, shredding its head off and causing it to explode. Saburo rolled his eyes upon seeing this, before doing the same thing with his own 20mm TAK.

"Why are you always right…?" he mumbled, before noticing another wave of enemies approaching.

"Risa-san," he called. "We're starting to run low on ammunition here! Any other ideas?"

"_Hold out just a little longer," _Risa replied_. "Unfortunately, that's all we can really do…"_

"Where the hell are those reinforcements?" Saburo said.

"_If we knew, we wouldn't have this problem!" _Charles cut in_. "Echo, are you getting anything from there?"_

"_Hold on,"_ Echo said. "_Anyone know how the army will show up?"_

"_Why do you ask?" _Saburo replied, expending the last of his 1-pounder and 2-pounder ammunition as he did so. "_Is there something approaching us?"_

"_Seems like it," _Echo replied. "_This is… a train!?"_

"_A train? Since when did we have a subway running under Ueno Park?"_

"_Here it comes!"_

* * *

As the _Maso-Kihei _machines caused havoc all over Ueno Park, four figures watched as the chaos unfolded. They smiled, content with the situation created, before noticing a disturbance nearby. Something shook the ground, as if an earthquake prepared itself to strike. Then, suddenly, a massive steam locomotive burst out of a nearby body of water. Four machines burst out of the train with clouds of colored smoke, before landing on the grounds of Ueno Park.

The machines, shorter in height compared to a Type 12 and lacking any sort of head unit, drew their weapons before announcing their presence to the world.

"The Imperial Floral Assault Troop has arrived! (帝国華撃団、参上！_Teikoku Kageki-dan, sanjou!_)"

A short distance away, the members of the Mobile Grenadier Division took advantage of the situation to neutralize a number of the remaining _Maso-Kihei _in their vicinity.

"_So that's the Imperial Army's Koubu, huh," _Charles said over the radio. "_Took them long enough to show up. Painted in nice bright colors, too."_

"_Heh, says you," _Saburo replied. "_Look at your paint scheme; it's a nice bright red. You'll fit right in with them!"_

"_Beats being with you, Saburo."_

"_Wha- wait! No! Take that back; that was uncalled for!"_

"Boys, please," Risa cut in. "If you have the energy to argue with each other, use it to help thin the enemy crowd. We don't want our precious reinforcements getting swarmed."

"_Inspector,"_ said Echo. "_The enemy just brought in a large Maso-Kihei right by the reinforcements. It's probably the enemy's leader."_

"_What are the Koubus doing?" _asked Charles.

"_Looks like they're moving to engage the enemy's leader," _Echo replied. "_Also, listen to their radio chatter. Those voices sound familiar."_

All the officers then tuned in to the army frequency, and encountered a surprising number of female voices on the other end.

"_What's the plan, Ogami-san?"_

"_We will take out their leader! Sakura-kun, can you cut a path through for us!?"_

"_What shall I do, Ensign?"_

"_Protect our backs, Sumire-kun! Maria, can you cover Sakura-kun and I!?"_

"_Yes sir, providing covering fire!"_

"Huh," said Risa. "It's the Imperial Theater troupe. Guess that answers your question about their identity, Echo."

"_Yes, it does," _Echo replied. "_So, Inspector, what will we do? Shall we provide assistance?"_

"Of course," Risa replied. "It's our job."

"_We're low on ammo though, Risa," _Charles said. "_We won't hold out long."_

"If you run out of bullets, use your bayonet. If your bayonet breaks, use your fists. If you loose your hands, use your teeth." Risa stated. "Don't worry, we're on the offensive this time."

"_Very well then,"_ Saburo replied. "_We're better at melee anyway."_

* * *

One _Maso-Kihei_ after another exploded as the pink Koubu cut its way through to the enemy leader, the white, black, and purple Koubus following close behind. Within the pink Koubu, Sakura Shinguji charged her machine forward, cutting down another _Maso-Kihei _as she did so.

"_Wait Sakura!"_ the pilot of the black Koubu, Maria Tachibana, exclaimed. "_You're chasing them too far!"_

"_Sakura-kun!"_ the pilot of the white Koubu, Ichiro Ogami, exclaimed. "_Behind you!"_

The pink Koubu whirled around and, to its pilot's horror, found a _Maso-Kihei _ready to strike the Koubu down.

Sakura had the situation under control, of course, and prepared to parry the impending strike. However, something rammed into the _Maso-Kihei _with a loud crash, running the evil machine into the ground with a hard kick.

The _Maso-Kihei _attempted to get up but found its head torn to pieces as the Type 12 emptied its 20mm autocannon into the enemy machine. It then readied its riot shield once more, before shifting its monoeye's gaze to the pink Koubu behind it.

"_Hi, Sakura-san,"_ the pilot of the Type 12 said. "_Thought you might need a hand."_

Sakura widened her eyes as she recognized the voice.

"Akiyama-san!?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

"Doing my job," Saburo replied, smiling as he observed the remaining members of the Mobile Grenadier Division, sans Echo, cut their way to the Flower Division's location.

"_Saburo,"_ Risa called over the radio. "_Don't just go charging in like that!"_

"_Sorry Risa-san," _Saburo replied, emptying his last reserve of 20mm shells into one of the _Maso-Kihei _machines in front of him_. "Couldn't help it."_

Risa and others then screeched to a halt next to the Flower division, the monoeye of Risa's Type 12 focusing on the white Koubu as they did so.

"Don't worry about the grunts, _Mogiri-kun_," Risa informed Ogami. "We got this."

She then motioned her Type 12 to cast away its riot shield and empty 20mm autocannon.

"Dian," she called. "I'm going to test your melee program for a second. Is that okay with you?"

"_Of course, Mbak Risa!" _Dian replied, firing a few well placed shots into a nearby _Maso-Kihei _as he did so, causing the enemy to explode. "_Besides, it's easier to show off when we don't have ammo!"_

"_You say that like its a good thing," _Charles cut in, discarding his shield and autocannon before drawing his Type 12's sword as he did so.

Meanwhile, the Koubus of the Flower Division looked at each other in confusion, destroying the occasional _Maso-Kihei _in the meantime.

"_Sakura-san," _the pilot of the purple Koubu, Sumire Kanzaki, questioned. "_Do you know these people?"_

"_Um, well," _Sakura replied. "_They came to our performance yesterday, but other than that…"_

_"Sir, I think we should focus on the enemy's leader," _Maria suggested. _"Especially since our new help seems to be doing well."_

Right on cue, Charles's Type 12 dashed over a nearby rock, performed three consecutive spins in the air, before ramming his sword straight through the nearest enemy as he landed.

"_I'm going to agree with Maria," _Ogami said. "_Surround the enemy leader! He can't fight us all at once!"_

"_Yes sir!"_

The group of Koubus then turned around and dashed towards their objective, while Risa and the Mobile Grenadiers held the rear.

Risa's Type 12 drew both particle sabre hilts into the open before a pair of bright blue beams burst out from one end of each hilt. The Type 12's monoeye scanned left, then right, before the pilot inside took a deep breath.

"Right," Risa muttered to herself. "Here goes…"

Suddenly, the Type 12 rushed forward, bisecting two enemy machines in the process, each with a single stroke from each sabre. She moved on, parrying a blow from another enemy before decapitating it as she did so.

One more.

Two.

Three.

"_Risa,"_ a voice called over the radio. "_How many kills?"_

"I don't know," the girl replied, cutting down another enemy as she did so. "Fifteen? Maybe twenty?"

An enemy exploded nearby and the smoke cleared to reveal, as Risa expected, Charles in his red Type 12.

"That's twenty three," he stated, stabbing his sword through another enemy as he did so. "Twenty four. How about you, Echo?"

"_Twenty six," _came Echo's stoic reply, followed by the sound of a shot from his Type 12's 57mm. "_Twenty seven."_

Soon afterwards, another Type 12, this one painted in field blue, burst through a crowd of enemy machines, it's torso mounted MG18 blazing away as it did so. The Type 12 then rammed its heat axe through a nearby enemy, causing the machine to explode.

"_Thirty!"_ an excited voice exclaimed. "_Not bad for a first mission, right?"_

"_Dian, don't get too cocky,"_ Echo suggested. "_That might get you killed."_

"_Don't be such a party pooper, Mas,"_ Dian complained, before cutting down another enemy. "_Thirty one!"_

* * *

Risa popped open the hatch of her Type 12 as the machine returned to its position in the Metropolitan Police Headquarters' hanger. The mission had concluded the moment the _Teikoku Kagekidan _managed to defeat the enemy leader, resulting in the self destruction of the remaining enemy machines.

Surprisingly, the destruction of said machines failed to result in any further collateral damage, most likely because the Mobile Grenadiers managed to destroy a fair portion of them.

The hatch to another Type 12 popped open, revealing a fairly exhausted Saburo within.

"Whew," he managed. "That was surprisingly tiring."

"You bet," an equally exhausted Charles replied. "Goes to show how much adrenaline we had pumping through our bodies."

"That was fun, though," a surprisingly energetic-looking Dian stated. "It was like fighting a whole bunch of grunts!"

"They were grunts, Dian," a fairly calm-looking Echo replied. "Also, war isn't fun. We should all know that."

Dian's smile suddenly looked like a bitter one at this statement.

"Yeah," said he. "I know."

The boys then continued walking towards the elevator as Risa watched.

She sighed, before jumping out of her own Type 12.

As Risa walked towards the elevator, a number of thoughts crossed her mind as she recalled the behavior of the boys she witnessed just know.

"_You have seen the horrors of war, as well as I have,"_ she remembered Chief Inspector Harada say. Perhaps this applied to all the members of the Mobile Grenadiers.

She needed to do something to raise morale.

But… what?

What moments made her new subordinates smile?

Risa thought back to the memories of the day before, when she met the other members of the Mobile Grenadiers.

A thought soon occurred and, now with a smile on her face, she walked towards the elevator.

* * *

A few days later, the members of the Mobile Grenadiers once again found themselves in Ueno park, this time as part of a leisure activity. The park underwent a fairly swift reconstruction process following the attack a few days prior. Now, the cherry blossoms found themselves in full bloom, their petals occasionally carried away by the wind every so often.

Today, however, the Mobile Grenadiers were not alone.

"Ensign~," a "drunk" Sumire Kanzaki slurred. "Don't be so shy~. Loosen up a little~."

"Sumire-kun, please," a slightly distressed Ensign Ichiro Ogami replied. "You can't get drunk on _Amazake_."

"Sumire, you're making us look bad," a displeased, but slightly amused, Maria Tachibana said. "We have guests today."

"I'm sorry, Akiyama-san," Sakura Shinguji sighed. "Sumire-san is usually not like this."

"No, it's fine Sakura-san," Saburo replied slightly nervously. "A party is a party. Nothing bad about it."

Meanwhile, a fairly excited Iris tapped on Ogami's shoulder.

"Onii-chan," the French girl said. "I want some more juice. Dian, do you want some?"

Dian, who unexpectedly found himself in this conversation, blinked in surprise before responding.

"Sure," said he, to Iris's delight. "Why not?"

Echo, who had been enjoying his own bottle of Ramune, smiled at this exchange.

Risa herself also took a swing from a Ramune bottle, before stretching her arms a little. She smiled, seeing the smiles upon her comrades' faces.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked a voice, which Risa soon identified as Charles's. He held a pair of Ramune bottles, one in each hand, and offered one to Risa.

The Bavarian Inspector politely declined before responding to Charles's question.

"More or less," Risa replied. "Good thing everyone else is enjoying themselves."

"Indeed," Charles said. "But I think we're missing something…"

Risa raised an eyebrow in curiosity as Charles rummaged around his pockets, looking for something in particular.

He then pulled out a deck of cards.

Charles smiled as he saw Risa slowly understand his message.

"Care to join?"

* * *

**Sakura Taisen: Sie Liebten Sich Beide**

**第一章**

**完**

**Chapter 1**

**End**


End file.
